Founders:

Concept

Beam and Go is a remittance service that uses mobile technology to help overseas Filipinos purchase life’s essentials for their loved ones within the Philippines. A person simply selects a product, and who they wish to receive it. The recipient then receives a digital print certificate via text, which can be redeemed in a selected merchant. The certificates can be used to buy anything from groceries to medical supplies or even insurance, and guarantee that a worker’s hard-earned cash won’t go to waste. In order to provide accountability and transparency, a suite of tools enables the sender and the recipient to view the status of the gift certificates. As it is based on SMS, the system is also significantly faster than traditional remittance services and isn’t overflowing with hidden fees, starting at just $1.99.

How they’re disrupting

Remittance services are laden with pricey transfer fees and often rely on family members to line up at brick-and-mortar offices to receive cash sent from abroad. Beam and Go are disrupting this, helping women from the Philippines, working as domestic staff in places like Hong Kong or Singapore, send money back home in a secure, efficient, convenient and digital way.

Disruption potential

Beam and Go has been active since 2014, and has some 100,000 users. There are about 10 million Filipinos working all over the world who send billions of dollars in remittances to the Philippines each year.

Investments and future

In 2014, the company raised a round of $500,000 from private investors, which it used on marketing, business development, product development, and staffing. It is now looking to grow its merchant network.